Radiant Melody
by moriartyswife
Summary: Airi Kida. Riko Urihara. Iyo Hattori. Kana Suzuki. Nami Amano. A Star team at the Ayanagi Girls School. Told in 5 Alternating POVS. Being on Kotori Hiragi's team wasn't as easy as any of them thought. Hard work, long hours, and of course, being in high school meant falling in and out of love. Each girl follows their dreams and their hearts, learning to deal with the consequences.


1 month ago:

Airi's POV

The entrance ceremony lasted twice as long as they said it would. It bored me until they brought out the talents of the musical department. The girls were better than I'd heard, but I'd get into the program. My whole family is musically inclined so there should be no issues in getting in. I clapped for the performance, but it could have been better. The group was out of synch at times but the singing was good. My phone buzzed in my pocket, earning me a glare from the girl next to me.

Kaito: Auditions begin in an hour.

Airi: Our ceremony is still droning on. You'll do great :)

Kaito: So will you, Ai. I'll call you later.

Ten minutes later, the lights came on in the auditorium, signaling this boring circus to be over. I stretched my arms over my head while waiting for all the other girls to pile out of the room, and then followed the stragglers out. Auditions started right after this so I'll be done before Kaito… Maybe I'll buy us some celebratory dinner and surprise him at his dorm.

"Ai-Ai!" Riko shouted, running towards me from the main gate. Late as usual. Girls turned to stare at her. Ignoring them, she engulfed me in a bone crushing hug. "What did I miss? Just the boring stuff?" She ran her hand through her short hair.

"Pretty much. At least you made it in time for the auditions." I laughed.

Riko and I have been friends since we were kids. Her family used to work for us, and her and Kaito were my only friends who stuck around after my mother left and my father lost our fortune. They were the two most important people in my life. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them.

"Let's get going! We have a lot of people to show our talents to," Riko winked, hooking her arm through mine. She pulled me along to the musical department hall.

Inside, there was a lot of competition, but I wasn't worried. Musicals and theatre were in my blood. Riko, on the other hand, she only learned because I forced her to sit through my lessons with me. Turned out that she secretly enjoyed it and finally admitted it to me when we started middle school, where we were split up. She went to a middle school across town that was easier to afford, but we promised to come here together.

After we signed in and received our number, we stepped off to the side. "I need a drink," I said, heading straight for the water fountain. The hallway was loud with the chatter of all the other girls who wanted a spot in the musical department.

"Eek! I'm so sorry!" A girl exclaimed.

Riko broke out laughing, holding her stomach. "Clusty Chi-Chi is at it again!" Laughter took over more. The girl Riko had named was in front of Neo and Isa. Neo had a water stain on the front of shirt. Being the nice girl she was, she waved her hand and told her it would be okay.

Isa, on the other hand, glared right at us. "Leave it to Riko to make a scene of things." She folded her arms. I didn't care for Isa. She didn't really like Riko or even me, for that matter.

"What did you say!" Riko growled, narrowing her eyes. She took one step toward her but I grabbed her arm, shaking my head. If we got into an argument here, it might hurt our chances of making a team, let alone making a Star team.

"Ladies, Auditions are beginning," A second year announced, holding a clipboard. She rattled off numbers for each section: Vocals, easy. Dancing, even easier. Interview, the hardest of the three.

Breezing out of the interview room, I smiled at Neo, who was next. We went to the same middle school as Isa, and her twin Iyo, along with the boys we were dating. I didn't dislike her, but she was just so nice. Too nice. It might kill her to say something truthful that might hurt someone's feelings. Me? I didn't mind being brutally honest.

Another second year began to read off the names of the Star teams. "Kotori Hiragi's star team," She announced. Kotori was one of the top performers here. I wanted to be on her team or on Zuri Adaichi, but any Star team would do. "Airi Kida."

Grinning, I joined Kotori on stage, who had an equally big grin. She held out her hand to me. "It's a pleasure to have you on my team."

"I'm honored to have been chosen," I replied.

"Iyo Hattori." No surprise there. She was talented.

"Riko Urihara." Thank god! I thought we might be split up.

"Nami Amano." A black-haired girl with a beanie headed for the stage. She must be talented if she got chosen by Kotori.

"And Kana Suzuki-"

"YEAH!" A girl ran for the stage, a huge grin on her face. "I made a star team!" Everyone laughed at her as she tripped on the top stair. She didn't seem to mind, since she also laughed. "Hi everyone," She greeted us.

Zuri Adaichi's team was last. Neo and Isa both made that Star team. At least I knew the competition would be difficult and more of a challenge. I'd hate to be so much better than everyone else and have no real rivals. Kotori asked us to meet her in a training room for introductions tomorrow morning before school. We had the rest of the afternoon off.

"You going to see Kaito?" Riko asked, teasing me. She liked to make fun at Kaito because he was so serious and quiet, unlike her. Thankfully, they both pretty much got along. She made kissy faces at me.

I shoved her face away, laughing. "Yes, I'm going to get dinner for us. He doesn't know I'm coming over yet."

"Aww," Riko cooed, clapping her hands together. "You two are so cute," She teased again. "I'll start unpacking our things since we get to be roommates. You have fun on your date, but not _too_ much fun!" She winked and gave me a cheeky smirk.

With an eye roll, I blushed. "You're going to make people think we're… a-and we aren't. We haven't!" I said quietly so others couldn't hear me. She's so open about everything.

"Heh, I know. You're too innocent for that," Riko said dismissively. She had told me about her last boyfriend, or fling, or whatever he was to her. They'd done a lot more than kiss and she told me almost all the details, even though I asked her not to. She spent a lot of her time trying to convince me to be "bad". _Take a risk! Kaito will looove it._ She'd wink like before and laugh, saying that she was joking.

I left Riko at the front gate, blushing like crazy. I slapped my cheeks, focusing on what I should get to eat. Take out maybe? Or burgers? After all that work, a greasy burger with fries sound really appetizing. Settling on it, I checked my phone for any messages. Kaito must still be busy. By the time I'd ordered and gotten the food, he'd sent me a reply to my message.

Kaito: Third floor? I'm on the fourth. The rooms are bigger than I thought.

Airi: What room number?

I climbed the steps of the boy's dorm building, avoiding any staff or anyone who might throw me out. It seemed like everyone was either out or in their room. No one was wandering the halls. He hadn't answered by the time I made it to the fourth floor, so I tried to guess. Turning the corner, I heard two boys talking.

"I'm Shu Kuga," the boy's voice said.

"Top or bottom bunk?" Kaito's voice replied.

Moving to the open door, I knocked anyways. Both looked at me. "Hey," I smiled.

"Airi? You came all the way here?" Kaito asked, still in disbelief. Shu excused himself, saying he had to go to work.

I nodded. "Surprise," I joked, holding up the food. "I thought you might be hungry, and I guess…" I blushed and stared down at the ground. "I just wanted to see you." Being apart wasn't that hard for me. Neither of us were clingy. But after this exhausting day, I needed to spend time with him.

Kaito laughed. "You can come by whenever you want to, Ai." He set the food aside, wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me close. "I'm always happy to see you." Not giving me time to reply, Kaito lowered his head to kiss me.

After this long day, it felt good to be reminded that I was actually in love with a boy as amazing as Kaito, and that he loved me, too. Every day that passed since my family fell apart seemed harder than the last. But, I knew I had nothing to worry about with him by my side. We were going survive high school and make it into the musical world together.


End file.
